


Fish Stank

by Ysavvryl



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Fishing, Humor, M/M, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 16:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ysavvryl/pseuds/Ysavvryl
Summary: There are many things that can enhance romance.  Smelling like fish is not one of them.





	Fish Stank

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ladylapislazuli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylapislazuli/gifts).

Having to be quick in fetching a cricket out of the bug jar and covering the jar back up to not drown out the rest of his bait, Souji held the startled cricket carefully to tie it to the fishhook. He’d been practicing with other baits in other spots, ones less likely to squirm and try flying away. But the bugs were free and he still had good luck with them. With the cricket secure, he stepped back to the riverbank and cast his line out. The cricket plopped down amid many other plops from raindrops, joining a thick rippling of the river waters. Was the rain getting heavier? Not that it mattered; he’d fished in worse weather. This was just enough to excite the fish and clear his mind.

“Hey, Souji!” someone called from the sidewalk. The small river rocks made Yosuke’s footsteps louder as he came over. “What’re you doing out in this weather?”

“Fishing, what else would I be doing out by the river with a pole?” he answered, keeping his eyes on his line.

“Right, but when it’s raining like this?” he asked, tilting his umbrella so the rain dribbled away from him. “You’re soaked and it seems like it’s gonna get heavier.”

“It’s August, so it’s not bad,” Souji said, noting some ripples out of place. “And I brought a change of clothes. What are you doing out in this weather?”

“I managed to escape overtime and tried to call you, see if you wanted me to bring over a movie or something,” he said, shifting his schoolbag. It didn’t sound like much was in there, maybe some movies. “But nobody picked up.”

He shrugged. “Nanako’s visiting a friend and I told her I’d make some grilled fish for dinner. So I’m getting the fish. Hang on.” He tugged on the reel to make sure he hooked the fish, then had to steady his hand to keep the line’s tension from growing too much.

Although he hadn’t been fishing with him before, Yosuke watched quietly while he was fighting the fish. It was a trout, luckily. “Sounds good, but I don’t see the appeal of standing out in the rain for hours getting smelly fish stank just to get dinner.”

“It’s worth it,” Souji said, crouching down to unhook the fish and put it in the large cooler with river water and the other fish he was keeping. “And if your fish are smelly, they’re old and dead, or sick. These don’t smell that bad.” Once he got up, he put his hand near Yosuke’s face before he realized what he meant to do. “Though there is a fish stank.”

Scrunching up his nose, Yosuke stepped away. “Hey, not in my face!”

Souji chuckled, then put another cricket on the hook. “Couldn’t resist. If you want to hang around while I get another trout, you could come over. Since you were planning on that anyhow.”

“Well I guess, if you really want to make me wait out here in the rain,” he said, faking at being reluctant.

“Though Dojima might start joking around with you being with me all the time,” he said.

“I am not!” he insisted. “We’ve been hanging out with everybody this summer, since we don’t have crazy murder cases to worry about this year.”

But it was true, Souji thought. Not that he minded; he was enjoying this vacation more because of it. Though he’d enjoy it more if Yosuke would admit to why they’d been spending the most time with each other out of the gang. He had heard from a fisherman elsewhere that you could apply techniques similar to fishing to finding love. Have the right bait, be patient, and be careful of the tension. Well, he was standing here soaked in a tank top and jeans, though the fish stank could lessen any appeal that might have. But what was it going to take to really hook Yosuke? He’d rather not have this summer come to an end and still not get past this denial.

At least, Souji was pretty sure that Yosuke was interested in him but wouldn’t admit to it. It could be just his imagination, or it could be that he needed to make a bolder move. But he would rather Yosuke come around to the realization on his own, to lessen the chance that he’d want to fully break apart if he resisted too much. Missing the right chance due to being too loose with him could have Yosuke falling for another girl and ending up with her. Or even another guy in the right circumstances. What to do…

Well, love might be similar to fishing, but it was more complicated.

* * *

They stood out there in the rain quietly, Souji watching his line without restless movement (sometimes pulling it back in to cast out again) and Yosuke with his umbrella trying not to be bored. After a few minutes, he had to admit it wasn’t too bad. The steady sound of the rain melding with the flow of the river was the kind of thing nature-lovers adored, wasn’t it? And compared to the stillness of a humid summer sun, being out in the rain with an umbrella was comfortable. He couldn’t imagine being out in the rain itself like Souji was, though.

Then again, it wasn’t like Souji could handle both an umbrella and his fishing pole. He was crazy talented, seemingly picking up anything he tried without effort. And without him in Yasogami, the top student of their class was harder to pick out. But no matter how talented or intelligent, the umbrella and the pole would get in each other’s way. It wouldn’t even help for Yosuke to share his umbrella, since the problem still applied. Though he could have at least worn a raincoat and hat. Maybe to him, it wasn’t any different from getting soaked from swimming.

Though he did look pretty good even soaked like this; he’d kept himself in good shape and that couldn’t be missed. It wasn’t too much body-building, but a good masculine figure that mixed maturity and youth in ways rarely seen. Souji himself was a rare person and without him, Yosuke would have still been bored, unappreciative of what he had, and without purpose. How was he so nearly perfect?

Not that he’d go saying something like that aloud. “Hey, uh, you do this to do some thinking?” he asked, not wanting to seem creepy for just standing here quietly. “Cause it is pretty peaceful out here despite the weather.”

“That’s some of it,” Souji said, pulling his line back in to check on the bait. “Even though you have to focus on the line, it does make my mind clearer, away from the distractions of everything else. It helped last year.”

“Guess it’s what they call being in the zone, huh?” he asked.

“You want to give it a try?” he asked, looking over at him while he still had the hook in hand.

“Maybe not when it’s pouring like this,” Yosuke said. He wasn’t sure how interesting it’d be, but it would be with Souji, which could be enough to make it fun. As friends, although maybe… nah, he couldn’t be thinking of that seriously.

“Then we’ll have to meet up before dawn or before sunset,” he said.

“Seriously?”

He nodded as he cast the line back out. “They aren’t as active in the middle of the day without rain.”

“Then maybe evening some time,” he said. “I’ll have to get a pole, but we’ve got some at Junes. Should I get some of their lures too?”

“I just use bugs,” Souji said, briefly pointing to the jar he had near the cooler. “And they’re best caught at those times too, some of them at least.”

“Heh, like being a kid huh, catching the bugs to catch the fish?” That did seem kind of fun.

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“Right.” Nothing wrong with that… that was the same thing Teddie had been talking about yesterday. But that was because he’d gotten some weird idea that Yosuke and Souji were in love. He’d gotten all worked up about it too, complaining that they’d already gone through this with Kanji (although it wasn’t the same thing). It didn’t make sense, although he should’ve expected that out of Teddie.

Didn’t make sense. But then again, to another, standing out in the rain just watching someone else fish wouldn’t make sense. Yosuke had come out to hang out with Souji anyhow; how that happened didn’t matter. But because it didn’t matter, did it mean something more? No, no they were just friends, best friends at that. There was no need to think about this any longer.

Except, it hadn’t been just Teddie. He’d said he’d gotten the idea from Chie and Yukiko, then dragged him over to the Amagi Inn in order to talk with them about it. Chie had gotten mad about it. “Teddie, we weren’t going to mention anything about it until it was official or something!”

“What the hell gave you guys that idea anyhow?” Yosuke had asked. He could still recall the anger and embarrassment about it. If he could just say it was some misunderstanding… but somehow that was harder to say then it should’ve been.

“You kept in contact with him the most while he was back with his parents,” Yukiko said. “And you both seemed most excited to see each other again, although he was subtler about it.”

“Yeah, but even I saw it,” Chie said. “Naoto agreed too, so we figured you two had something secret going on.”

“That’s not what it is!” Yosuke had said. But he’d not been able to convince them.

And by the time Naoto got in on things, she had said, “I’m sure Souji knows how he feels, but he’s a patient man. He wouldn’t try something that might scare you off.”

“What do you know about romance?” Yosuke had said, although that had caused another misunderstanding and he had to apologize to Naoto.

And then she’d accepted the apology with, “I suppose our knowledge in that field is equal, so I understand. You didn’t mean to offend. But you may wish to consider why everyone else thinks it’s obvious.”

Looking back over at Souji, he asked, “Hey, have the others been bugging you about something?”

“Nothing in particular,” he said.

“Oh, well it only came up yesterday, so I should’ve expected not,” he said, not sure if he should be relieved or not. After all, their friends might do something about this if they were concerned. That could end up embarrassing, or if Teddie happened to say something to the wrong people…

“What’s the problem?” he asked, still watching his line.

“It was probably just a misunderstanding,” Yosuke said. But now that he’d brought it up, he wanted to know… and surely Souji would be curious what was up. Of course, he could put an end to the gossip better, if he wanted it. “Hey, um, you never did tell me if you were dating someone. So are you?”

“Nope,” he said.

“Well that’s fine, I mean, I don’t have anybody either right now,” he said. Darn, if he’d just said yes, there was nothing to worry about. Although he felt a bit relieved hearing that. But did that mean…? No, it probably didn’t. While he was trying to figure it out, Yosuke kept talking. “I keep thinking about getting a girlfriend, but no luck there.”

“Got anybody in mind?” Souji asked.

After a moment’s thought, he answered, “No one I’m too serious about yet, though there’s always a few worth consideration. What about you? Anyone you have an eye on?”

“Yes,” he said, surprisingly.

“Really?! Who?”

Souji looked over at him for a moment.

“Uh, what?” Yosuke asked, rubbing his head.

“I’m just wondering if I should tell you,” he said, then pulled back his line to try another spot.

He smiled, hoping to take it as a joke. “Aw come on! We’re friends, right?”

“Our hearts are inseparable,” he agreed.

“That’s a bit much, but sure,” Yosuke said. “Is it somebody at your other home?”

“Nope, here in Inaba,” Souji said.

“Oh, okay then,” he said. “Well just about everybody around here likes you, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” He smiled. “I’ve had lots of people ask where you were the past few months, even those I hardly spoke to. You really left an impression despite only being here a year, even changed the town for the better beyond all the stuff we did in the TV.”

“I hope it keeps getting better, though it can stay a small town and be great,” he said.

“Yeah, I agree. Then who are you interested in here? I won’t make fun of you or anything, even help you out if you need it.”

Things were quiet for a bit, making Yosuke nervous. He already said that he didn’t have anyone in mind, so it wasn’t a jealousy thing. And Souji didn’t seem too nervous about it; he couldn’t be scared about admitting his feelings to whoever it was. Right? Then he pulled on the pole and started reeling in a fish. Maybe he’d just been focused on getting the fish rather than answering straight away. Before long, he had the other trout he was after.

During a few moments more while Souji was getting the fish off the hook, Yosuke got even more nervous. Maybe their friends were onto something? Naoto had suggested that Souji might not say anything if it was him. That could also explain the lack of an answer here. If it was anyone else, Yosuke was pretty sure Souji would have told him straight away too.

“Hey, um,” he said, then nearly froze up. Asking this was a big change from how he’d always acted, even with Souji. But Souji wouldn’t be afraid like this; Yosuke recalled that he’d even gone into the cross-dressing pageant without a single complaint. And he’d already started asking. “Are you, err, you mean you’re interested in me?”

“As a friend,” he said, which Yosuke wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or disappointed about. And then Souji had to add on, “Or more, if you’re interested.”

“R-really?” He felt like he was sweating under a spotlight now, even though they were out in the rain, under overcast skies.

He got the trout in the cooler, then came over under Yosuke’s umbrella. “We’ll always be friends, I’d like for that,” he said, but tapped Yosuke’s nose. “So I’ll only say this today: I appreciate you, partner, maybe more than you realize. You’re better than you give yourself credit for and I know you’ll mature into an admirable man. I adore you and I would treasure your love forever, if you’re willing to accept mine. But if not, that’s fine, as long as we’re friends.”

Could he accept this? What would everyone else think? The gang would be fine with it, he was pretty sure of that, but anyone else? This was a small town and it was hard to say how anyone else would take it. “Ah, that’s,” he sputtered out, “that’s nice, but you still stink like fish.”

Souji laughed at that, a sight that made Yosuke smile in spite of everything else. “Sorry about that. Then, you want to cancel the dinner plans and think about it a bit? I can meet you back up at the shelter here this evening, after a shower and everything. I can always let you try some fresh grilled fish later.”

“Sure, that’ll work,” he said.

And that night would be another time that his life changed forever, as the extra time got him to accept that he loved Souji too.


End file.
